At 3:33 am Wednesday, I awoke to contractions. They weren't very strong but each one was coming regularly, every 4 minutes, and lasting for about a minute each. At 4:30 I couldn't stay in bed. Jevon woke up to ask me what I was doing. "I think I'm in labor," I said, to which he replied: "Are you serious?" Indeed...and after getting ourselves ready to go and speaking with Dr. Jarrett, we were heading to the hospital for our scheduled 6:00 am induction, already in natural labor. I instantly felt some guilt. The last three weeks I had worried and complained about how much I wanted Deklan to come on his own, having little faith that he would. God provided a miracle the first time. Why did I doubt that He wouldn't again?
We got up to our delivery room and my contractions slowed down slightly. At 7:30 they were around 8 minutes apart. Then, I woke up. The fact that I had fallen asleep was an indicator that labor was not progressing at all. My contractions had all but stopped and we started on pitocin at 9:00 am. I was hesitant. The nurse and Dr. J assured me that the small dose would only kick start my labor and I could still delivery naturally if I wanted to do so. Jevon was so supportive and encouraging. He held my hand and stayed positive. We were both looking forward to our little one's arrival in the next few hours.
I learned a lot during my labor. I went in with expectations and plans of my own and I should have been open minded and more trusting that God had all the details worked out better than I did. I was completely opposed to pitocin and an epidural going into this. The pitocin worked well. My contractions were strong and very regular. At 11:30 when they broke my water I was handling them okay. At 12:30 I asked for my nubane. It helped for one contraction. At 1:00 pm I had met my match. Deklan was in a hurry to get here! Jevon was helping me so much, and I was leaning on him hard throughout. No matter how much I breathed and prayed though, I couldn't seem to stay on top of the pain. The contractions were incredibly strong but the worst part was that they came one after another with no break in between. At that point I was 7 cm and there was no time for me to catch my breath or regroup. I lost it. Weeping uncontrollably, I let go of my plan. Apologetically, I told Jevon I couldn't do this. I needed the anesthesia. He told me not to apologize, that I had done a great job. After more crying and more pain, Dr. Price came around 1:30. God had sent an angel bearing anesthesia to help bring the baby here. I embraced Jevon, sobbing and praying out loud as the pain just piled on. Each contraction was unbearable and I was now sitting up on the bed trying to breathe through as the epidural was administered. The Dr. was quick, even though each second lingered for me. Once it kicked in, which was within 10 minutes or so, I realized that His plan was so much better.
I fell asleep again, this time with regular contractions every 2 minutes. When I woke up I was fighting to not push on each contraction. I was calm. I was having a conversation with Jevon and with our nurse, Deb. She said I was fully dilated and Dr. J would be over as soon as possible. That was at 3:00 pm.
After setting up and readying for the big moment, it was time to push. Jevon held my leg and we pushed through one contraction, rested, then another, and then Deklan was here. Unlike with Ryker where I was eyes clinched tight, zoned out, I could see it all happen and enjoy it with Deklan. Jevon and I could talk and smile together as he slowly emerged. It was completely amazing, and indescribable. God blessed us with another healthy baby boy!
Deklan is doing really well. He is in excellent health. He is eating superbly and sleeping much better than his brother did when he arrived. Deklan is a sweety. He has taken to Daddy right away, preferring his comforting nuzzles to mine most times. His eyes were wide open when he joined us. He looked around so inquisitively. He looks so long and lean and has some hair, too! It is hard not to compare these first days to Ryker's. I mean, take a look and see if you can tell which is which. The boys have shown a couple of differences though. Deklan is vocal and Ryker was quiet. Ryker needed constant contact and rocked to sleep from the get go; Deklan has been pretty content to be put down by himself. We can't wait to watch his personality develop just as we have Ryker's.
So, where did we get this name? Jevon stumbled upon it while we were doing a search online in the Spring. With Ryker's illness, we put it on the back burner until this summer. Then, we revisited the search and he really liked the sound of it. I had a couple of other ideas. Jevon kept bringing it up and then one day he explained what it meant. I loved that it meant "full of goodness". I also liked that it was Irish. (I had been eating lucky charms cereal at least once a day for my pregnancy, so it was fitting.) Then, the deciding factor: we asked Ryker which name he liked and he said "baby Deklan".
We were grateful to have so many family and friends stop by to see Deklan in the hospital. I'll post pictures below of some of our guests. Thank you for all of your prayers and support throughout our pregnancy and delivery process.
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